Lift Up Your Eyes to The Fields: Part 2

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Bibles this morning, please turn with me to John Chapter 4.

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Chapter 4, as we continue our series, lift up your eyes and look at the fields.

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I appreciate Sister Linda putting this title right here, right out of the

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Bible. Thank you Sister Linda for this. Follow along, we've got the Scriptures here, and she also puts the

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Scripture reading in as well, and the orders of worship, and thank God for her gift in helping us here in this as well.

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Well, as we continue to look at this, there's a great sense of urgency our

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Lord Jesus has here for His disciples, and it's a great sense of urgency that we should have as His disciples as we follow

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Him. But what I'd like to do today is not necessarily exhaust all these

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Scriptures in which we're looking at. This will be a part two of this series of lift up your eyes and look at the fields, but primarily as we go through this,

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I want to focus in primarily on verse 34 today.

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Verse 34, we'll look at others, what the Lord is saying to us, but verse 34

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I believe is the heart of everything here, of what Jesus is saying, because His food is to do the will of the

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Father who sent Him, and to finish His work in which He did complete. So keep that in mind as we look at our text.

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Let me read the text to you as we begin at verse 27, and I'd like to read it through verse 28.

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I'm going to read this, and there's much here, but primarily we want to look at verse 34 today.

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He speaks of the whited harvest. He speaks about for us to take the blinders off and to look at the fields.

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But there's a harvest, and we need to have a sense of urgency that our Lord had.

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Hear the word of the living God. Verse 27, and at this point

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His disciples came and they marveled that He talked with a woman, yet no one said, what do you seek?

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Or why are you talking with her? And the woman then left her water pot and went her way into the city and said to the men, come, see a man who told me all things that I ever did.

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Could this be the Christ? And then they went out of the city and came to Him, and in the meantime

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His disciples urged Him, saying, Rabbi, eat. But He said to them,

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I have food to eat of which you do not know. Therefore the disciples said to one another, has anyone brought

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Him anything to eat? And Jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish

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His work. Do you not say there are still four months and then comes the harvest?

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Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.

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And he who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit for eternal life.

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Both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true, one sows and another reaps.

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I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored. Others have labored and you have entered into their labors.

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Stop right there and let's bow before our Lord now and ask His blessing upon this time of worship as we hear from heaven.

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Father, we do seek your face as the psalmist says, Lord, as we say that and pray that, my heart says, your face,

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O Lord, I seek. Father and our God, we once again are desperately in need of your help and your grace within this hour.

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Lord, as the old hymn says, we need thee every hour. To add to it, we need you every second.

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We need you every moment we breathe. Because it's a matter of spiritual life or death.

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Help us, O God, to have the urgency that the Lord Jesus had in his heart.

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Even though, Lord, we would never measure up to that, but Lord, by your blessed Holy Spirit, you can help us.

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Father, we need daily bread today. We need fresh bread. Not just concerning our physical needs, but our spiritual needs.

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And we are needy. We are a needy people. And we would not need of just your blessings,

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Lord, we are in need of yourself. We need you, O God. Our greatest need is yourself.

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As David cried out, Lord, in Psalm 42, as the deer pants for the water brook, so pants my soul for you,

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O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living

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God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night.

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While they continually say to me, where is your God? Lord, give us this wonderful delight, this desire within our heart.

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Lord, I pray if anyone does not have this today, Lord, you can give them a new heart and regeneration by your spirit.

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Lord, we pray that your blessed Holy Spirit now, by your grace, would give us this kind, this kind of spiritual thirst, this kind of spiritual hunger for yourself.

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Grant it, dear Lord, I pray, in thy mercy and for thy honor.

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And we ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and for his sake. Amen. Amen. Verse 25 through verse 30 is basically, we see the conversion of the

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Samaritan woman. We have looked at these verses and what a powerful conversion she had.

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She was totally, completely changed. In verse 25 through verse 26, it actually says the woman said to him, speaking to Jesus, I know that the

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Messiah is coming, who is called the Christ, the anointed one.

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When he comes, he will tell us all things. Jesus said to her,

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I who speak to you, am he. Now, in this introduction, as I was studying this,

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I could not help but notice a wonderful, wonderful quote in the

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Bible exposition commentary by Warren Wiersbe. If you ever read

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Wiersbe, he just has a way to grab your attention because he was such a prolific writer, but he was a genuine man of God.

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He went home to be with the Lord not long ago, actually. He was in his nineties. God blessed him with the longevity of life.

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And he was a speaker. I remember hearing him many times on Back to the

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Bible years ago, and he really blessed my heart and soul and my life as we,

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Tracy and myself and our children at that time were very young, but we'd listen to him and then, like I said, back to the

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Bible, and he took us to the Bible. And I praise God for his life. But this is what he said about the

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Samaritan woman's conversion here, because this is really, it's all about the

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Lord Jesus Christ, but this Samaritan woman is a very important part of the plan of God and how the

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Lord used her in a mighty way. Wiersbe says this, in spite of her ignorance, there was one truth, one truth this woman did know.

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The Messiah was coming. The Messiah was coming and would reveal the secrets of hearts.

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Where did she learn this truth? Where did she learn this truth? Wiersbe says, we do not know.

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But that seed had lain buried in her heart until that very hour, and now it was going to bear fruit.

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He goes on to say this, and you see where his track is, it's about fruit bearing. Our Lord's response to her statement was literally this in the original language,

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I that speak to thee, I am. Because the

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Lord Jesus Christ is the I am. I love that. He dared to utter the holy name of God.

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And at this point, the woman put her faith in Jesus Christ and was converted. Immediately, she wanted to share her faith with others.

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So she went into the village and told the man she had met the Christ. And when you consider how little spiritual truth, listen to this now, when you consider how little spiritual truth this woman knew, her zeal and witness put us to shame.

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But God used her simple testimony and many of the people came out to the well to meet

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Jesus. The rabbis said, it is better that the words of the law be burned than be delivered to a woman.

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But Jesus did not agree with that narrow prejudice. Why did she leave her water pot when she hurried into the city?

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Well, for one thing, Wiersbe says, she had the living water within and was now satisfied.

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Also, she intended to come back and perhaps in the interim, and the disciples and Jesus could use the vessel to satisfy their thirst.

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Never thought of that. Gone were the racial barriers and battles that had existed before they were gone.

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They were all one faith and love. This woman did not come to faith in Christ immediately.

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Jesus was patient with her, very patient. And in this, he sets a good example for us in our personal work.

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Certainly, she was the least likely prospect for salvation.

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Yet, yet, God used her to win an entire village.

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Amen. Praise God. And you think of it, how soul -searching is that for us today, as we hear these words of life from the word of God and hear this remarkable story of this conversion of this

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Samaritan woman that was a mixed breed and that was rejected in that day and very immoral.

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Jesus crossed barriers and he broke them down. Christ came to change her life as he has come to change your life and my life for his good and for his glory.

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It's not about us. If a change takes place, it's about the glory of God. And if you see this in the story, you see that the

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Samaritan woman brought glory to God by her witness, by her change. And she goes into the village and she takes the gospel and she says, what does she say in verse 29?

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Come, there's the invitation. Come. Don't just hear my testimony, but see a man.

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Come and see a man. And by the way, in the translation, that M, the man, M is capital.

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Jesus is the capital, M -A -N. He is the man who told me all things that I ever did.

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Could this be the Christ? Powerful, powerful. And I love what

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Wearsby says. She shames us by what little light she had in a short period of time, how she went into that village and told people about the

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Lord Jesus Christ. They flock to him in the droves. Well, we're so often blind, aren't we, to people's spiritual needs and their readiness to come to the

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Lord Jesus Christ that we are hindered thinking, oh, these people are just so evil and so corrupt.

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There's just no way that they could be changed. But I'm telling you, God can change them. This woman was the most unlikely person to be converted.

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But yet look at how she was changed. Look at how she was transformed by the power of God and by Christ himself presenting to her living water.

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We see in their lifestyle and sometimes hard attitudes that people we don't think will change for the glory of God and be converted.

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And we forget that God is able and even that God at times is willing, sad to say, to work powerfully in them when the time is right.

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God help us and forgive us of our unbelief. Beloved, this story of the

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Samaritan woman's conversion is a great lesson about taking that all of us, including myself, that we would take off the blinders and know that there is nothing impossible with God.

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Nothing's impossible. Matter of fact, God specializes in the impossibilities.

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I pray that encourages you because I know all of us here has lost loved ones that we desire to see to come to the

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Lord and to repent of their sin. And we pray, oh God, change their heart, change their lives, do a work in their life because we can't do it.

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We can be a conduit. We can be an instrument to take the message, to show them Christ's likeness as we should, but only

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God can fix the heart. Only God can change the heart. Only God can create a new heart within us.

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So God help us. May we take off the blinders regarding the people around us as we have seen here the woman at the well as our

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Lord Jesus speaks to her parched soul concerning living water.

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And we see her story continues as it opens up a whole entire Samaritan village to faith and leads to a great revival as Jesus's band of disciples develop new eyes to see and look at the harvest field and for it is ripened and white to harvest.

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Now that's the lesson that the Lord would have us to learn is about the whited harvest field that we would open our eyes and see this and that's what the

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Lord desires for us to see. Now verses 27 to 30 are actually transitional.

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Let me read to you very quickly. We covered it and at this point his disciples came and they marveled that he talked with a woman and yet no one said what do you seek or why are you talking with her.

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The woman then left her water pot. We looked at that because she has now found satisfaction with the

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Lord Jesus Christ and living water and then she went her way into the city and said to the man come and see a man who told me all things that I ever did.

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Could this be the Christ? And then they went out of the city and came to him.

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They came to Christ and in the meantime his disciples urged him saying rabbi eat.

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Rabbi eat. Now let me stop right there. The Samaritan woman reminds us of the forerunner of the

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Lord Jesus Christ John the Baptist. John the Baptist shouted out to his disciples what was his primary message.

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Don't look to me. Behold the Lamb of God. You see what he's doing.

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He's pointing people to Jesus as the Samaritan woman did.

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Come see a man. John the Baptist was a man that was solely sent from God and he fulfilled his duty by pointing people to the

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Lord Jesus Christ. He even said I must decrease he must increase.

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That should be the heart's desire of every minister and prayer and life but also as all believers should have that same goal as well as ministers of the

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Lord. And in John 1 36 and also the first disciples we looked at in the past Andrew what did what does it say about him and it says the first thing he did he tells his brother

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Simon Peter about Jesus. The first thing his brother. So we see there that Andrew was a witness to those within his family closest to him.

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John 1 41. That's basically that text. Also Jesus and Jesus speaks of Philip and Philip had to tell his friend about Nathanael a man without guile as Jesus said of him.

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So you see there the witness those that are closest to us within our family our circle that we need to tell people about Christ.

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So it's all about the Messiah. It's all about Jesus here. The story is not really focused on the

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Samaritan woman necessarily even though she's in the story but it's about Christ isn't it. It's all about the

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Messiah. Come see a man who told me all things I ever did could this be the Christ.

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That's what we should be telling people come see Christ. Look at him. Behold the Lamb of God.

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Tell people about Jesus about his great sacrifice. Every chance and every possible chance that God opens up because this life is short beloved.

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Verse 30. Then they went out of the city and came to him. They came to him and so we see the

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Samaritans begin to leave what they were doing in the town in the village and they make their way to the well outside of the town and to hear

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Jesus to go see Jesus. It's interesting here is as I was looking into this in verse 30 both speaks of the verbs here is the present tense suggesting the continual action.

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It's a continuing action just not a one -time action. It's a continual action while Jesus is talking with his disciples and talking about food and the white harvest field.

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There is a steady stream of people that's leaving the city and beginning to approach the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Now as we come to the very heart of this chapter right here is very critical.

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It's where we need to really focus and listen and learn as a disciple.

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That's what it means to be a disciple of Jesus isn't it? It's to be a learner. I remember when

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I was in seminary I remember somebody took a class and some of these classes are wonderful.

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It's just it's tools. Seminaries don't make preachers folks. As Dr. Sequeira as I mentioned this morning was a wonderful example for myself.

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He told a young minister he said God makes his men not in seminaries. He says but in the desert in the backside of the desert of affliction and suffering.

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But in saying that a disciple is not just a learner for a day or a week or a few years.

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It's a lifetime journey of learning and we must humble ourselves before God to learn.

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Well we're here to worship but we're here also to learn and Jesus said this of himself.

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He said come unto me all you the labor and heavy laden. I will give you rest for yourself. He says take my yoke upon you and then he says my yoke is easy my burden's light.

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Come he says learn of me for I'm meek and lowly in heart. So we want to learn of not about Christ.

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We want to learn from Christ from his feet and if anything that this sermon can do for all of us is to encourage us to go to Jesus and learn at his feet.

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That's my desire for you and this is where I want to be is the feet of Jesus learning as Mary did because she chose the best part.

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The disciple is a lifetime learner of Christ. Now verse 31 says this in the meantime or no translation says meanwhile while these people are coming his disciples urged him urged the

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Lord and they said this rabbi eat. They would seem like they were concerned for the physical food here even though they intended well for Jesus to eat physical food.

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But verse 32 says a great deal but he said to them I have food to eat of which you do not know.

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Now underscore that. Now what's he speaking of here?

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Is he speaking about physical food? I got something stashed in the back here that you don't know I'm eating of?

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No. He wasn't talking about physical food. They were thinking about the physical and this is that's a lesson.

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We are too physical. Now there's a place for the body of course.

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God's not against us feeding our body or we would all starve to death in just a few days and die.

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Give us this day our daily bread can mean physical food and God is concerned about our physical needs.

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Yes he is. But the primary focus is that we should be more concerned for the spiritual than the physical.

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This is the point that Jesus is really teaching his disciples because he desires for them to be more spiritually minded.

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Seek those things are which are above where Christ is at the right hand of the father. As Paul says in Colossians chapter 3 there not on things of this earth.

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We're too earthly minded. We're too physical driven. Aren't we? And there's a place for that again but we must prioritize and that's what

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Jesus is actually teaching these disciples. Their priorities are out of line. How do we know this?

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Well the disciples thought he was speaking of literal food and wondered where he got it. In verse 33 therefore the disciples said to one another notice verse 33.

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Has anyone brought him anything to eat? Now this leads up to verse 34 and this is what

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I would really want us to focus on because this is paramount. A matter of fact there's no way

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I can exhaust this within just a few minutes. We could take days and Lord's days after days and do a whole series on this and still not exhaust it and we never will because the

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Lord Jesus Christ talks about something so incredibly important here we need to get it. Jesus explains to his disciples in verse 34 notice the text.

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What he's saying here is that doing the father's will in this case is leading the woman to salvation.

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The Samaritan woman was true nourishment for his soul. This is how

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Jesus got his nourishment. What was it?

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Verse 34. Jesus said to them his disciples my food, listen carefully,

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Jesus says my food is to do, notice that word do, obedience and he had perfect obedience by the way to do the will of him the will of the father who sent me and to finish his work.

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This was everything to the Lord Jesus Christ. This was what was in the forefront of his eyes mind his mind's eye and his heart his passion was to do the will of the father because the father sent him the father sent

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Christ the father sent his only begotten son into this world that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life and while the disciples were satisfied with the physical bread

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Jesus was satisfied with the spiritual bread which was accomplished in the father's work he was doing the father's business we see this in Christ's life even in his early days when he came and and and he supposedly that he wandered away but he was with the doctors and lawyers and Mary and and Joseph became pretty upset they found him in the temple teaching them and even then he says

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I must be about my father's business roughly around 12 years of age and we just have a small window of that but what does that tell us about Christ even then he was conscience of his mission from the father he knew he was sent from the father for a specific mission and Jesus is basically teaching his disciples here that this

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Samaritan woman's conversion was part of his mission this is his passion this is the father's passion because the father sent him into the world his father's will his father's business matter of fact all the way through the scriptures you see in the gospels

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I mean you see I must be about my father's will everything that I do I do because of the father the father the father his father's will we speak about the will of God the will of God is not a maze the will of God is not something hidden it's not a mystery it's very practical it's in front of our eyes we think sometimes we cut we over complicate this

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I've struggled personally with this in my own life at one time I didn't know where about God wanted me and I was thinking about Lord where you desire me to be and don't get me wrong

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God's leading and guidance is another thing than the than the will of God don't get those two confused we always want to pray that will be done right no matter what it is but I think a lot of times we get confused that we put the will of God in a category of well is he leading me is this his will or is does he want me here does he want me to have this job does he want me to speak to this person does he want me to do this or that or the other and we forget that the will of God is right in front of our eyes and the way we should live it's very important uh

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Phillips Brooks said this seek your life's nourishment in your life's work Wiersbe once again says the will of God ought to be a source of strength and satisfaction to the child of God just as he sat down to a stupendous feast if you want if you if what what we are doing tears us down Wiersbe says this instead of what builds us up then we may well question it is the will of God is it the will of God for us our

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Lord Jesus did not look at the father's will as a heavy burden beloved or something distasteful beloved it was his delight another way we can we can understand

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God's will is God's desire that's another word and that helps clear that helped me out so much when

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I looked at it Lord what is your will and the more I read the scriptures it is

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God's heart it is God's desire it's what God delights in it's what

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God pours into and and you want to know God's will beloved right here

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I point you to it know this book know this Bible from Genesis to Revelation saturate your time within feast on the word of God and God will show you his will right here and by the way

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God if you question whatever is God's will and you ask if this is the will of God in my life see if it lines up with this brother

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Keith mentioned it this morning is it chapter and verse does God say it people could come to you say ah

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I got a vision for you the Lord told me run from that person amen don't pay

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I got an amen over there listen God's will doesn't come

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I heard I heard a preacher once say this and I blew I said you got to be kidding me

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I can't believe that you're saying this behind the pulpit he says oh

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God speaks to me oh yeah he says I was sitting at my study looking out the window a little carnal bird that's

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God speaking to me now don't get me wrong God does speak in his creation beloved he does that's his general revelation but primarily his special revelation is the way

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God speaks to you God doesn't necessarily come to uh through a bird and says okay through this bird

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I'm talking to you well sure the birds sing of God's glory and their own language and they sing music and so forth yes it's creation speaks of God but what

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I'm trying to say is that is that God necessarily telling me give me a sign see this is the thing we seek for signs we we seek for fleeces we seek beloved that is our lack of faith that is our unbelief everything we need is right here in this book line it with the word of God throw out superstition throw out nonsense that anyone would come to you and say oh yeah this is

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God God said this and if they ask that if they say that ask him give me chapter and verse give me chapter and verse and if they somehow say

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I'm a prophet and I got something to say well again whatever they prophesied doesn't line up with this now if I want to prophesy to you

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I will say this verse 34 Jesus said to them my food is to do the will of him who sent me and I and to finish his work

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I just prophesied to you some truth and I know this is truth because the

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Lord Jesus Christ said it and this Bible is true because the Bible says of the

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Bible that every word of God is pure and it goes forth and it does not return void so you could count on it that what

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I just said and what I read from the text is God's word so just hold that before you if anyone comes to you in the name of the

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Lord or says thus sayeth the Lord test it with scripture test it with scripture the

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Bible says that test the spirits and see whether they are of God and he talks about there's many antichrists that's going into the world many false teachers that will come to you and and speak so -called what the

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Lord says and if you notice if you read in Jeremiah and Ezekiel it talks about false shepherds that will come and say thus sayeth the

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Lord but the Lord did not send them read the Bible see if it lines up with God's word so it's important we need to know what the word of God and what the will of God says again our

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Lord did not look at the Father's will as a heavy burden it was his very nourishment of his soul and so it should be with us so it should be with us doing the

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Father's will fed Christ it fed him he lived by it day by day as a man full of the

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Holy Spirit he was satisfied with it because he drew strength and that's what he's saying he says

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I have food that you do not know of what he's saying is I draw nourishment from my

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Father by doing his will Deuteronomy 8 .3 Jesus quoted this in the temptation while he was while he was driven in the wilderness illiterally driven that the original says the

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Spirit of God led him in the wilderness in Matthew chapter 4 after his baptism the

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Father spoke from heaven when John he came to John the Baptist and basically said baptize me and John made the statement says who am

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I to baptize you I'm not even worthy to unlatch your shoe latches and Jesus says suffer to be so to fulfill all righteousness and he suffered him and John the

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Baptist baptized the Messiah the Christ and he went into the waters now he went to the waters of baptism not because he was a sinner

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God forbid that's blasphemous he was the Holy Son of God he did this representing his people he was representing his people to fulfill all righteousness and when he went down you and then he came up out of the water you know what the scripture says at his baptism at the end of chapter three there the

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Spirit of God descended upon him like a dove and the Father from heaven spoke there's the

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Trinity folks the Father from heaven spoke and said this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased and then the

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Spirit of God is not a dove folks it came in a form of a dove gentleness and great kindness the

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Spirit of God is and it came upon him and then right after that he goes into the wilderness 40 days and 40 nights the

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Spirit of God drove him in the wilderness think of that and then he became hungry and what happened when he became hungry that's when the tempter satan came to him in his weakest point and that's this is a great lesson for all of us in temptation because he will come to you in your weakest points at times to tempt you to sin and then what does he tempt

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Jesus of the first thing that liar says if you be the son of God notice what he's saying the

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Father just proclaimed from heaven this is my beloved son in whom

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I'm well pleased and what happens Jesus comes back how did he how did he combat temptation

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I like what Paul Washer says here folks he says it wasn't just him quoting the

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Word of God which is paramount but it was his obedience his perfect obedience and obeying the

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Father and then he he he just takes that sword of the of the of the

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Word of God the Spirit of God and just rams it down satan's throat and he quotes

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Deuteronomy 8 3 the man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God the full scripture says in Deuteronomy 8 3 so he humbled you

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I love that allowed you to hunger and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know that he might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone let me stop right there this is important did you catch that underscore that word alone that means that God expects us obviously to work if a man does not work he will not what eat

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God created work God gave us an example of work six days in Genesis God worked he spoke it happened he created the sun light the stars everything there and then even and then on the sixth day the crown of his creation was made he created man but you don't need to miss this work is important but worship is more important you put your worship before you work and then in your work you worship you see what

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I'm saying that's why the scripture says man shall not live by bread alone because physical bread men you're with me you're the breadwinners right

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I'm a breadwinner you're a breadwinner well the Lord gives us bread physical bread but more important is the physical is the spiritual bread right man shall not live by bread alone but man lives by what every word

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I love that don't you not some words every word that proceeds from the mouth of the

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Lord every single word every word of God is pure every word is important now truly understand the meaning here the depth of this great truth we need to see from John chapter 6 so please turn with me to John chapter 6 we're going to go a few chapters we're heading in this direction and God willing we'll we'll tackle this when we come upon it this whole chapter 6 is a great lesson for all of us

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Jesus feeds the 5 ,000 they had spiritual needs I mean yes they had spiritual needs but they also had physical needs and Jesus was concerned if you look at verse 5

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Jesus lifted up his eyes seeing the great multitude coming toward him he said to Philip and Jesus knew the answer to this by the way but he gives

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Philip the question where shall we buy bread that these may eat now right there as Jesus gives this question to one of his disciples there's a great lesson in this entire chapter folks

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I don't have time to touch on all of it but we're going to look up briefly at what is talking about physical bread and spiritual bread and notice what verse 6 says

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I basically just paraphrased it for you but this he said to test him for he himself knew what he would do

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Jesus has given him a test Jesus has given Philip an exam

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Philip answered him and says let's see how he does on this test he said 200 dinero worth of bread is not sufficient for them those thousands here by the way five thousand and that every one of them may have a little one of his disciples

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Andrew Simon Peter's brother said to him there is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish but what are they among so many and Jesus said make the people sit down and here's the miracle notice this now there was much grass in the place so the men sat down in the number about 5 ,000 that tells us something the 5 ,000 here is just the men that doesn't include the children and the women so there's more than 5 ,000 as a whole

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Jesus took the loaves and when he had given thanks he distributed them to the disciples and the disciples took the disciples to those sitting down and likewise of the fish as much as they wanted in other words there's this just handing it out multiplying where is it coming from where is it coming from where did the manna come from from the father

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God was concerned about their physical needs but more important he's more concerned about their spiritual needs hang with me here well there's another test that came

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I'm not going to go through verse 15 to 21 but let me pick up on verse 22 in chapter 6 on the following day the following day after the miracle when the people were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no no other boat there except that one which his disciples had entered and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples but his disciples had gone away alone however verse 23 other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they ate bread after the

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Lord had given thanks now he's speaking about the miracle and when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there nor his disciples they also got into the boats and came to Capernaum seeking

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Jesus now let me stop there why are they seeking Jesus amen

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I want you to get this this is a lesson for all of us folks he's concerned for their physical needs but Jesus is more concerned for the spiritual needs they were seeking him primarily because the

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Bible says no one seeks God but they were seeking him for the benefits they were seeking him for the physical bread how many people you know that seeks

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Jesus for the benefits both hands right oh

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I want the blessing I want the manna from heaven Lord give me give me give me you see what you see what's going on they wanted

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Jesus as a bread king oh he's performing a great miracle he could feed thousands we want to use him we want to take the

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Lord now and since he could do these miracles oh wow hey he could do these miracles he could feed fish multiply the fish and the bread and take care of all our needs and yet people would go to hell you see where I'm going with this listen to the text listen to these scriptures verse 24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there nor his disciples they also got into the boats and came to Capernaum seeking

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Jesus and when they found him on the other side of the sea they said to him rabbi when did you come here when did you come here notice they started asking him questions and verse 26

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Jesus answered and said to them most assuredly verily verily I say unto you when Jesus says most assuredly or verily verily truly truly

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I said to you something very important Jesus has to say everything he says is very important but this really has an emphasis to it he says

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I say to you you seek me hey how does he know this he knows people's hearts he said you seek me not because you saw the signs but because you ate and the loaves and were filled and then verse 27

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Jesus gives the point do not labor for the food which perishes let's underscore that do not labor for the food which perishes but for the food which endures to everlasting life which the son of man will give you because God the father has set his seal on him what

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Jesus is saying is what more important than our physical food and our physical being our physical existence is the spiritual need of the soul that man needs to be regenerated he needs to repent and change and come to Christ because you see all the physical is going to eventually pass away yes

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God knows how to take care of our physical needs but more important is the spiritual that's why he said in Matthew 6 33 seek you first the kingdom of God notice first not second seek you first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these other things what's the other things food clothing your your your your simple things that you and I need in life

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Jesus says you don't have to worry about that you don't have to be anxious for that you put God and you put

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God first in everything that you do and he'll take care of you that's what

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Jesus is saying if God the father set his seal on him and then they said to him notice they didn't give up on this they didn't get it what shall we do that we may work the works of God you know we really think we know our hearts we don't listen to that question what shall we do that we may work the works of God Jesus knew that that question and their heart was all twisted up they they they because self was on the throne they wanted

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Jesus for themselves not because they loved him verse 29

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Jesus answered and said to them this is what he says this is the work of God you want to know the work of God listen to what

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Jesus said that you believe in him whom he sent that's the work of God you believe on him therefore they said to him what sign there it is

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Jesus said the evil and adulterous generation seeks after signs

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Jesus said there'll be only one sign I'm going to give you the sign of Jonah and you know what that that meant his crucifixion his burial and his resurrection that's it that's sufficient that's all we need folks

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Jesus and Jesus alone what sign will you perform then that we may see it you notice notice so we want to see it and believe you what work will we will you do in other words they try to put it back on Jesus and notice what he said then they says our fathers ate the man in the desert as it is written he gave them bread from heaven to eat hmm how'd

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Jesus respond to that verse 32 then Jesus said to them folks to surely I say to you

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Moses did not give you the bread from heaven it's not Moses the prophet but my father gives you the true bread from heaven don't you love that the true bread from heaven is

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Christ next Lord's Day we will be celebrating the Lord's Supper together as believers and this is what it's about our nourishment comes up from remembering his sufferings and his death on the cross because he is the true bread from heaven that's where how we draw nourishment is from Jesus and then he says in verse 33 for the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives you life to the world and notice they continue they said to him

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Lord oh they call him Lord but they really don't know him as Lord Lord give us this bread always

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Jesus said to them how patient is our

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Lord you know I'm as I'm reading this I'm thinking I would lose patience with these people but Jesus is so patient and he knows their hearts we don't know the hearts of man we know that hearts the hearts are desperately wicked and they're the rebellious against God we don't know our own hearts but Jesus knew their hearts he's the searcher of hearts and he just tells him

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I am the bread of life he who comes he who comes to me shall never hunger and he who believes in me shall never thirst but I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe all that the father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me

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I will by no means cast out for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me this is the will of the father who sent me that all that he has given me he's talking about the elect the believers that the believers that will believe those that will believe should he says

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I should lose nothing but should raise him up at the last day and this is the will of him who sent me that everyone who sees the son and believes in him may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day do you see what

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Jesus is saying he is that true bread he is the one that has eternal life in himself well that's glorious so much more that can be said well

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John 4 34 Jesus said to them my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work so the question is this what does

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Jesus mean in our passage here in John 4 34 what

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Jesus is saying is this what gives me satisfaction what gives me nourishment what gives me energy what moves me what motivates me what compels me is doing the will of my father in heaven does that satisfy you doing

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God's will does the will of God give you energy does the will of God move you motivate you compel you to be obedient cx virgin said this stay with me this is a good quote but I want to give it to you nothing about his own will he says is true nothing about his own will here people think that if they could have their own way they would be perfectly happy and their dream of happiness consists in this that their wishes would be gratified their own longings fulfilled their desires granted to them this is all a mistake

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Spurgeon goes on to say a person will never be happy in this way perfect happiness is to be found in exactly the opposite direction namely in the casting down of our own will entirely and asking that the will of God may be fulfilled in us this is my food says the sinner this is my food looking to a table to do my own will

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Jesus points to another table and says this is my food to do the will of him that sent me my greatest comfort and the most substantial nourishment of my spirit are not found in carrying out my own desires but in submitting all my desires to the will of God to God's desires

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I love this listen to what Spurgeon says here when we have conquered ourselves we have conquered all when we have won the victory over our own desires and dislikes and have subdued ourselves through sovereign grace to the will of God then we will be perfectly happy end quote that's an awesome truth so my next question is this what makes you truly happy ask yourself that question what makes you true or actually let me reverse it a little bit what makes you truly holy because only true holiness can give you true happiness notice the the world seeks happiness folks they're out there now trying to find themselves where they they fit in what can

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I do there's something I'm missing but all alone in that little cavity in their soul God is not there filling that void that's what gives their fulfillment only

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God so the desire our desires should be

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God's desires then the question should move like I said what makes us holy rather than happy but the scripture does say a good bit about happiness did you know that it does the beatitudes in chapter 5 very quickly

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I don't I don't want to go through all of them but seeing the multitudes he went up on the mountain when he was seated and his disciples came to him he opened his mouth and he taught them saying blessed you know what that word blessed means extremely happy you want to be extremely happy today listen to this extremely happy are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven being poor in spirit blessed are those who mourn be extremely happy those who mourn for they shall be comforted blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness there it is for they shall be filled blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see